Have I met you before?
by Aqua4444
Summary: Dreams meant something, didn't they? Otherwise you wouldn't dream them, right? Lily's not sure, because she can't find a reason to why she would dream about James Potter, why she would dream of him even before they had even met. . . . (AU and a bit more info inside)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! **

**So, I'm up with a new story! I'm very excited! **

**This is mainly a Lily/James story, but I'll include some other parings as well and some well-known Harry Potter characters. **

**This will not follow the books, as it takes place in a universe where everyone are muggles & it's somewhat present time, but I will mention a lot of places and characters from Harry Potter all the same. I will change the age of some characters, just so they will fit better with the story. **

**I'll try to update once a week, but on no particulary day. **

**I don't own anything about Harry Potter, JK Rowling does! **

**And the picture I use as a front cover is from the internet with me only adding the title.  
**

_Dreams will always be in italics. _

**Enjoy!**

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**Prologue: A maid and a nobleman**

_She was running up the stairs, cursing whoever decided that a castle needed so many stairs. The heavy basket with laundry didn't help her at all, only increasing the weight of what she had to drag up the stairs. Her cheeks burned, both of exhaustion and shame for forgetting one of the rooms to clean. Her mistress would be very upset if she got words about this incident. A hopeless and disobedient servant was something that was despised in the castle which was swarmed with different nobles with different titles. She could hardly remember the name of any of them. And that wasn't a problem: they wouldn't know hers so perhaps it was fair that she couldn't remember theirs? _

_When she reached the seventh floor of the castle, she was panting and in stitches. Taking a few deep and well-deserved breaths, she then readjusted the laundry basket under her arm and continued walking down the corridor, searching for the room she had forgotten before. _

_The room was in the far end of the corridor, in front of a huge tapestry of man seeming to learn monsters to dance. It wasn't strange that she had missed the room before. The door blended into the stone wall so well, that you could almost believe there wasn't a door there. This had been her mistake in the first place. _

_Sighing and trying to smooth out the annoyed wrinkles on her forehead, she flattened her dark red hair and knocked three times on the door. Her knockings were firm and determined. She didn't have all day. _

_No one was answering the door, so she decided to just open it, gather the laundry and then go back to her other duties. She grasped the handle – which looked a lot like a brick – and to her relief the door opened. _

_ "__Hello?" she called out tentatively as she stepped into the room. _

_She got no answer. _

_The room was wide, bigger than the little cottage she lived in. The color theme was red and gold, only a few hints of black and bronze as well. From that, she could gather that this noble must be a relative to King Godric, whose fascination with red and gold could be called almost unhealthy. Being in a room like that with luxury and riches and windows with perfect view over the castle grounds and the village, made her think about how unfair life was. _

_ '__If I had been rich', she thought, not without some bitterness as she gathered some clothes made of silk or something equally soft and rich material. 'Then I would have made sure that everyone had money to survive, not be forced to live in poverty.' _

_She continued with her duties, trying not to be distracted by the richness and beauty of the room. The clothes she would take down for washing smelt nice even if some garments were dirty. They smelled of forest and horses, cinnamon and the smell of newly baked bread as if the clothes owner had been down in the kitchen numerous times. The scent brought a small smile on her pretty, but tired face. _

_ "__Are you smelling my clothes?" came an amused voice from behind her. _

_She turned around in fright, her skirts twirling around her legs. She didn't drop the clothes and that was always something. _

_ "__No", she said haughtily, trying to get her cheeks to cool down. "I was merely going to put them into the basket." _

_ "__Of course you were", said the man leaning on the doorframe and she realized that she had spoken out of turn to one of noble birth. _

_She gritted her teeth, considering if she should apologize or just leave. Apologizing was probably the best or she could be whipped for disobedience. It had happened to a girl a few days ago who had poured wine over one of King Salazar's great-great-great grandson's – or something like that – shirt. It was the most gruesome thing she had ever seen and she didn't want to be in that position herself. So she opened her mouth to apologize for her behavior when the man pulled of the white shirt he had been wearing. She could only stare. _

_ "__What in God's name are you doing?" she stuttered, cursing herself. _

_She did not stutter. Ever. _

_The man smirked at her, his black hair standing in every direction even worse so now than before. He took a step towards her and she instinctively took on back, touching the end of the bed. He held out his shirt to her. _

_ "__I thought you were collecting laundry", he said, trying to look innocent as if he wasn't standing half naked in front of her. _

_Blushing furiously of both anger and embarrassment she took the shirt roughly from his outstretched hand. It smelled nice as well. _

_ "__I should be going", she said through gritted teeth, trying to move pass the man. _

_ "__Already?" he actually looked disappointed. _

_ "__I have work to do", she answered importantly, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Unlike some, I can't go around and do nothing but enjoy life and its riches all day." _

_She closed her mouth immediately. Why did her temper get the best of her? She waited for his anger to come. Nobles didn't like rude servants who spoke out of turn. She could only hope that her punishment would be a few whips, no more. _

_ "__You know I can have you punished for that", stated the man casually, staring her straight in the eye. _

_He had beautiful eyes, she noticed. They were hazel, with specks of gold and they looked so warm and kind. For a moment she felt like smiling. _

_But then she remembered the situation she was in. _

_She looked down at her feet. They were barely visible under her black skirts. She tried to act humble, her pride put aside. _

_ "__Forgive me", she said softly. "I spoke out of turn. It won't happen again." _

_She turned to look at him, desperately wanting to remember his name. It was the hair that did it for her. _

_ "__Lord Potter." _

_ "__I'm not Lord Potter yet", he said kindly to her, his eyes drinking her in. "And you have nothing to be sorry for. I suppose you have quite a rough day." _

_He sounded sincere and looked it, but she didn't know how to react to this. She smiled a tightlipped smile, preparing to leave. He seemed to sense her rush and he quickly moved out of her way. Like you would do for a noble lady. _

_ "__I should not keep you from your duties. . . . forgive me, but I did not catch your name?" _

_Green eyes met his, taking his breath away. Her eyes were like emeralds and the riches in his room suddenly seemed petty and fake in the contrast to her eyes. _

_ "__It's Lily", she said hesitantly, almost shyly. _

_ "__Lily. . . .", he smiled, speaking the name as if it was as frail as the flower. "You can call me James," _

_James. If that wasn't a royal name, then Lily didn't know what was. James was still smiling at her, but she only gave him a small one in return._

_ "__No, sir Potter", said Lily quietly before leaving the room. "I cannot." _

_Then the castle walls came tumbling down with a terrible sound that shook the whole world: harsh and loud, irritated and hard, roughly and deafening. . . . _

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**So, that was the beginning. **

**Review, favourite & follow if you feel for it! **


	2. New start, new friends

**New chapter! **

**Thanks to the ones who have followed this story so far. Appreciate it a lot. **

**I don't own anything Harry Potter-related, the credit goes to JK Rowling. **

**Since this is an AU story, I've made Hogwarts to have nine years instead of seven. You start school at eleven years old but graduates when you're nineteen. That system fitted better with the story. **

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: New start, new friends**

Lily awoke with a start, heart pounding furiously and her emerald green eyes were wide and searching for the sound of the noise that had awoken her from her dream.

There it was again, that horrible sound of a monster wanting to break out from its cage or tearing down giant castle walls of stone. Speaking of monsters. . . .

"Lily, get up!" screeched her older sister, Petunia, and knocked a third time on the door, beating it senseless with her knuckles. "Mum doesn't want you to be late! Lily, are you up yet?!"

Lily could think of a lot more pleasant ways to wake up than to her sister's incredibly nasal and high voice. It was a voice made for someone who wanted to make glass shatter with only one wrong-placed note. She fell back in her bed again, her arm over her eyes.

"Nearly", she groaned, wanting to go back to sleep.

"What was that?" Petunia asked sharply from the other side of the door. "Never mind, just get up or you'll be late. It won't be a first good impression."

With that last piece of advice, Lily could hear her sister's footsteps disappear down the stair, making a hell of a noise. Lily groaned again, wanting nothing more than to crawl back under her covers and dream about a tall, dark stranger with kind hazel eyes. But Lily was a rational girl and she knew perfectly well that Petunia was right. It wouldn't do her any good to be late on her first day at a new school.

"Okay, Lily", she said to herself, trying to sound demanding. "You'll get up now and the day will be over sooner. You'll do that and I'll get you a nice box of chocolate chip cookies when the day is over. How's that?"

'Okay, I'm weird', Lily thought as she heaved herself out of bed, 'but when I start to add 'precious' when I talk to myself, then I'll go and see a doctor.'

She stood up and pulled away the curtains, letting the bright autumn sun lit up her room with the light yellow walls and trendy style. Lily liked her new room, even though she had only had it a few weeks. The moving to Godric's Hollow had come abruptly, not really what the Evans family had planned. But when Lily had gotten a scholarship for Hogwarts Academy, the family had decided to move so that Lily could get closer to school. Mind you, she would still have to go to school by train, but it was closer still. Mr Evans was a doctor and he had gotten a job at the hospital in town while Mrs Evans was still looking for a job. Petunia had been forced to leave her old school and start at the local school. She had been furious with their parents, claiming that they loved Lily more than her and she had said some things that had reduced all three women in the Evans family to tears.

Now, things were remotely fine, though Petunia never missed an opportunity to blame her sister for the so drastic change of lifestyle.

Lily wasn't sad about moving. She had never had any real friends in their old town; she was smarter than most kids in her age and she had never been one for socializing and parties and gossip. No, that was Petunia's department.

Lily took a quick shower before getting dressed. With a fluffy towel wrapped around her body, she took a critical look at her wardrobe. It saddened her to say that the contents looked so tame and so _boring_. But it was her style, Lily guessed. She rather read books instead of go shopping or did volunteer jobs instead of attend parties.

She eventually chose an outfit acceptable enough. Hogwarts didn't have uniforms, only demands that the clothing should consist of at least something black and that it would be 'proper', whoever it was who decided that. She dressed in a pair of jeans, light green tank top with a black cardigan to boot. On her feet she wore her black sneakers.

Looking into the full length mirror in her room, Lily saw a pretty girl with fair skin, dark red hair and almond shaped emerald green eyes. She looked perfectly normal in her clothes. If all went well, she wouldn't stand out too much.

'I look decent', she thought as she brushed her teeth and hair, not bothering with any particular make up. 'I've only gotten this chance. I can't blow it.'

Feeling content with herself, she grabbed her bag – which she had already packed and prepared the evening before – and went downstairs to join the rest of the family at breakfast.

The new kitchen was clean, almost sparkling in the sunlight. Mrs Evans was a perfectionist, thinking that everything should be in its rightful place. And since she hadn't got a job yet, cleaning was basically what she did the whole day.

"Ah, Lily", Mrs Evans said pleasantly as she saw her youngest daughter. "Good, you're ready. There's still some toast and eggs if you want some."

"Thanks", Lily smiled at her mum.

Lily sat down in front of Petunia, who threw a dirty look at her sister. The sisters were truly different, both in looks and personality. Petunia took after their mum: tall, blonde and with a love for gossip and perfection. Lily was more like her dad: red haired, green eyed with a love for books and a bit of a temper. But Lily thought that it had existed weirder families than hers.

"Excited for school, Lils?" Mr Evans asked, putting down his paper, his eyes sparkling at his daughter. He was the only one allowed to call her that.

"Yeah", Lily said with her mouth full of toast – Petunia scrunched her nose in disgust and Mrs Evans clucked disapprovingly. "It will be fun. It is said to be a wonderful school and its library should be. . . ."

"A perfect place for a perfect girl", interrupted Petunia bitterly, glaring at her plate.

Lily frowned, not wanting to argue with her sister the first thing in the morning, but somehow, her temper always seemed to get the better of her.

"You're just jealous because you couldn't get in."

Petunia's pale eyes shot up and met her sister's, anger and hurt visible in them. Petunia's eyes were like a mirror: showed everything exactly as it was. Lily immediately felt bad.

"Lily!" scolded Mrs Evans and Mr Evans looked disappointed.

"Tuney. . . .", Lily begun remorsefully, but Petunia already stood up, napkin perfectly folded as she put it back on the polished table.

"May I be excused?" she asked with the air of someone who wouldn't take a 'no' for an answer.

Mrs Evans made a sound like a squeaking mouse and Mr Evans nodded meekly. Petunia nodded her long neck gracefully, before leaving the kitchen, a half-eaten apple left on her plate. Lily bit her lip, feeling resentment of herself, Petunia and their parents.

"I'm full", she said sighing and stood up as well, putting her empty plate and milk glass in the sink.

She then picked up her bag, giving both her parents a quick peck on the cheek and she was already halfway out of the kitchen when her parents awoke from their temporarily uncomfortable position with their two daughters. The problem was perhaps that they loved their girls too much to have the guts to tell them off. And the family situation had been on the swaying side for a while now, that wasn't anything new.

"Do you need a ride to the station?" Mr Evans asked her, trying to regain his usual cheerful mood. "I could drive you if you want or you could ask. . . ."

He stopped himself in the last minute. Lily gave him a tight smile over her shoulder.

"There's no need, I'll walk. I need to learn my way around here anyway."

"If you're sure. . . ."

"Have a nice day, sweetie", wished Mrs Evans her daughter sweetly, also trying for a cheerful look.

Lily repressed a sigh, trying not to be annoyed with them both. She knew that they loved her and Petunia and that they were trying their hardest to make everything right again between the family. She rewarded them with an attempt of a bright smile.

"Thanks. You too."

. . . .

Godric's Hollow was nice, Lily concluded as she walked to the train station. It was quite the big town, busy with life and sounds, smells and sights that were all new to her. It was almost like magic and Lily was sure that she would love to live there as long as she could. The atmosphere was just so friendly and Lily liked that.

She passed a lot of houses and stores on her way to the station, only having to stop and ask for the way once. The stores looked either colorful or sharp and professional. Some of them played some funky music and the fresh September air let the tones of the music dance away uncontrollably with the wind, like a lovesick couple dancing on their first date. Careful and hesitant, happy and excited. It almost made Lily laugh and her smile was certainly much brighter now than it had been when she'd left home.

She drew a deep breath as she passed a bakery where an employee was currently out and putting up the 'open'-sign. The young, fresh looking woman smiled politely at Lily before going inside again, the smell of newly baked bread sipping out from the inside as the door opened and closed. The smell made Lily remember James from her dream. His clothes had smelled like this. Thinking about how strange it was that she could actually remember a smell from a dream, she walked into the train station.

It looked like a train station usually did. It was not magnificent or anything, but felt old and steady. Lily took an anxious grip around one of her jacket's pockets where she had her train ticket. She would get to the school with the Hogwarts Express from the station at eleven o'clock. Lily glanced at the big clock on one of the walls. It was twenty minutes to eleven.

'Good', she thought and looked around the station which was started to become crowded, people who obviously worked elsewhere would be there for their train. 'Now, what was the platform number again. . . .?"

Lily tried to look after a guard, but she didn't see one. Walking in a quick pace to one of the timetables, apologizing when she almost walked down a stressed man who was trying to catch the train to somewhere, Lily searched with her eyes in the timetable after the Hogwarts Express. She found it and she stated that the train would depart at eleven at platform Nine and Three quarters. Lily glanced one more time at the clock. She had fifteen minutes to go.

"You're starting DA as well?"

Lily tore her eyes from the clock and looked at the girl next to her who had spoken. Lily felt momentarily speechless by the girl's appearance. She had wavy, long hair in the color of caramel, tanned skin and mischievous brown eyes. But it wasn't her obviously good looks that made Lily feel small and out of place. It was her clothing style. Her jeans were ripped in several places, making it look like she was dressed in skin more likely than jeans. She had high black boots, an old leather jacket and a red, tight tank top. The red color was matching her lipstick, which would have been slutty on any other girl, but she managed to pull it off. In her ears hung huge, golden earrings, matching the many rings on her fingers. Her nails were red and looked like cat claws.

"Um. . . . DA?" Lily managed to stutter after the girl's questioning look.

"Well, I suppose it should be HA", said the girl thoughtfully, fumbling with something in her pocket. "Hogwarts Academy", she explained at Lily's wondering look. "But I say DA. It can either stand for Dumbledore's Army – that's the Headmaster – because I'm pretty sure he's sneakier than he lets on. Or it could stand for Dysfunctional Association. Because we at Hogwarts are, oh, so special."

She rolled her eyes and fished up a pack of cigarettes from her torn jeans pocket. With a cigarette halfway up to her mouth, she seemed to remember her manners.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" she asked Lily who had now started to look curious.

Lily shook her head.

"Your choice, but don't try to make me do it."

The girl smiled, placing the cigarette between her blood-red lips.

"Good of you. I like people who can stand up for themselves. . . . Anyway, you're starting Hogwarts, yeah?"

"I am", Lily informed her as the girl picked up a lighter and lit the cigarette. "You're going there as well?"

"Yeah. Have been stuck there for ages. You learn to live with it. By the way, I'm Mary. Mary MacDonald and no, I've no connections whatsoever with McDonald's."

She looked like she was used to questions like that. Lily smiled, her green eyes warming up to this peculiar girl.

"I wasn't going to ask", admitted Lily, watching as yet another train left the station. "I've been told that I have dreadful humor, but not even I could've asked a question like that. It sounds quite stupid to me."

Mary eyes lit up when she smiled, blowing out some white smoke.

"You know, I think I like you", she said and looked ecstatic over the fact. "So, what's your name?"

"Oh", Lily turned a bit red, "I'm Lily Evans."

"Evans. . . . not heard of it before. You're a scholarship kid, right?"

Lily felt her face darken in color and she looked uneasy.

"Yeah. . . . is that a problem?"

Mary raised her eyebrows, looking surprised over that she could even ask a question like that.

"Of course not! Sorry if it came out that way. There are a lot of scholarship kids at Hogwarts and they always tend to be the smartest. It's just that there are also a few kids whose families have gone to Hogwarts for generations and they can be a bit prejudiced about letting new kids with 'dirtier blood' into the school." Mary rolled her eyes again, pronouncing the air quotes like she thought it was the stupidest thing there was. "It's a lot of codswallop and most people don't care, but they're always some. . . ."

"No smoking, MacDonald!" a guard suddenly called out and Mary rolled her eyes for a third time, but obediently letting the cigarette out and threw it in a trash can.

"Get a life, Sturgis!" she called back, sounding as if this was a usual occurrence.

"Don't you have a train to catch?" Sturgis shouted, not looking bothered by Mary's tone at all.

Both girls looked at the clock. It was five minutes to eleven.

"Merlin's beard", Mary cursed and Lily paled.

Mary grabbed a shabby looking rucksack on the ground and heaved it up her shoulder.

"Come on, Lily", she said as they started to run. "You can sit with me and my friends at the train."

"If we don't miss it", replied Lily and shouted a 'thanks!' to Sturgis who looked positive surprised.

"Don't be silly", Mary said as they pushed themselves to a crowd of people who glared or smiled at the teenagers. "We'll make it. The platform is over there."

Lily looked in the direction of Mary's wave, which had almost knocked a poor man to the ground. She was met with the sight of a very solid-looking barrier. She wrinkled her forehead, panting ever so slightly.

"Do you want me to run into a wall?"

"Ha, that would be hilarious. . . . No, the platform is behind it. You can go around like a normal human being. Honestly, running through a barrier. . . ."

They made it in the last minute, almost jumping aboard the red train. Lily would've liked to have stayed a little while longer at the platform, admiring the train properly, but school was more important right now. She got all mortified when she thought of what would've happen if she had missed the train.

Mary straightened up, brushing some imaginary dust from her jacket and heaved her rucksack farther up her shoulder.

"See, Lily, we made it. No need to worry."

Lily smiled back, feeling free and ecstatic. It felt good to have some kind of friend, who weren't all pages and letters, but flesh and blood. Lily's stomach prickled as the train gathered speed, soon out of the station, with colors in blurs were all you could see through the windows.

"Let's go", suggested Mary and took the lead. "I want to introduce you to my friends. If you stick with us, you'll soon know everything about Hogwarts and everyone. What lessons that are awesome and bad, which teachers you should avoid or suck up to. . . ."

Mary happily chatted on as they made their way through the corridor, passing different compartments and students both younger and older than the two girls. Mary nodded to some and smiled at others. Lily felt out of place as Mary stopped for a quick chat with an older girl with a tattoo of a golden bird on her left arm. Lily wished that she didn't have that red hair, because it attracted a lot more of attraction than a usual brown or blonde. The tattooed girl's friends were watching her curiously and a group of younger kids stared at Lily like they had never seen anything like her before. She found that embarrassing and she blushed, trying to shrink together.

'What am I doing?' she thought, feeling pathetic. 'This would be a new start. Stand up straight and don't let them get to you.'

Nodding slightly, she followed her own advice. At the same time, the tattooed girl turned to her, a small smile on her rough looking lips.

"Who's the new girl, MacDonald?" she said, looking Lily up and down as if to check her value.

"I'm Lily", Lily said and glared hotly at the girl, not liking to be sized up like a pair of Madame Malkin's shoes.

"Feisty", the girl said approvingly as Mary laughed. "You'll do fine here."

"Lily, this is Emmeline Vance", Mary did the introductions. "She's in the year above us and she's actually cool."

"You flatter me", said Emmeline humorously and rolled her eyes. "But welcome onboard, Lily. You're looking for the Prewitts?"

"Yeah. Have you seen them?"

Emmeline jerked her head in the direction of the end of the train. Mary nodded and said a brief 'see you later', before dragging Lily with her, nearly smashing a couple of kids that didn't look older than twelve.

"Who are the Prewitts?" asked Lily, though looking concerned back at the twelve year olds.

"My friends", explained Mary and stopped outside a compartment. "Don't worry, they'll love you."

Lily wondered if the worry had been visible on her face, but with that said, Mary pushed open the compartment door they had stopped outside. Mary went in, Lily hesitatingly following.

"Gentlemen", Mary said loudly, causing the two red-haired boys to jump in fright, tearing their gazes away from some notes they were making. "It's rude to whisper behind a lady's back."

The two boys broke out into identical grins and that was when Lily realized that they were purely identical. Their hair was red, though a brighter red than hers and both had blue eyes and their faces were covered with freckles. They were even dressed alike, though one of them had blue shoes and the other orange ones, clashing horribly to his hair.

"We weren't aware of that you could be considered a lady, Murderous", one of the twins said – the one with blue shoes – and grinned widely at Mary.

She snorted and pushed Lily into the compartment and closing the door behind her. The twins grins got even bigger when the laid their eyes on Lily.

"You brought a ginger", they cried out together, almost dragging Lily to sit down in front of them.

"Well, an almost ginger", the twin with orange shoes said, smiling at Lily and looking as if he wanted to touch a piece of her hair to inspect.

Lily felt for a brief moment uncomfortable and wondered what kind of people she had been placed with. Mary sat down next to her, throwing her legs up into one of the twins lap.

"Take it easy, will you? We don't want to scare her." She turned to face Lily. "This is Fabian 'Fabulous' Prewitt and his brother Gideon 'Gorgeous' Prewitt. They're twins", she pointed out the obvious.

"I could tell", Lily said, somewhat humorously and tried to smile. "My name's Lily Evans."

"Hm. . . . Lily. . . .", Fabian – who was the one with blue shoes – mused, thinking hard.

"You'll need a nickname", continued Gideon and wrinkled his nose.

"Hope you get one better than Mary 'Murderous' MacDonald", Mary staged whispered to Lily, who bit back a smile.

"Got it!" exclaimed Gideon and snapped his fingers together.

"It's a good one, brother", Fabian agreed and Lily thought that it probably was a part of their twin-bond for him to know the name before Gideon had even mentioned it.

"Lily 'Luscious' Evans!" they chorused, looking expectantly at Lily.

She felt moved that they had come up with a nickname for her without knowing her more than five minutes, accepting her like it wasn't a big deal. No one had ever given her a nickname besides her dad. Though, she slowly turned red at the adjective they had chosen for her. Her three companions seemed to be finding this very amusing because they laughed and the sound felt like home in some weird way, like magic, and Lily couldn't stop her lips from twitching.

"Look at that", Fabian said as if it was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. "Luscious Lily is blushing!"

"It's exactly things like that that will have all the boys falling at your feet", nodded Gideon, imitating a wise old man.

"Stop it!" Lily said as they went into another laughing fit, Mary just smirking. "I'm here to focus on school. I can't blow it all by going after boys. . . ."

"Good of you", Mary praised, nodding in agreement as the twins sobered up enough to take part in the conversation. "The boys aren't important. You and I, Lily, are two independent women, who will go far in this world without any men to be in our way."

"Hey, we resent that!"

Lily watched as Mary, Fabian and Gideon continued to joke around. Mary had been joking when she spoke about boys, but Lily could sense some bitterness beneath the sweet, joking façade. She wondered what could've created that.

"Tell me", interrupted Lily the others, a blazing flame of hope and excitement in her eyes, "what's Hogwarts like?"

The other three looked at each other fondly, a dreamy look upon their faces.

"You see, Lily. . . .", Gideon began, speaking like he was about to reveal the world's biggest discovery.

"Hogwarts is. . . .", Fabian took over from there, seeming to remember something beautiful and frail, a hidden secret.

"Magical", finished Mary, her dark lips turning upwards in a soft smile.

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**So, how about that? **

**Review, favourite or follow if you feel for it. It would make me happy! **


	3. Welcome all of you to Hogwarts

**New chapter's up! **

**Thanks to those who have read, followed, favourited and reviewed this story. Appreciate it! **

**I don't own anything about the Harry Potter world. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Welcome all of you to Hogwarts**

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec!" shouted Hagrid in a booming voice from the front seat where he sat, and drove the bus around a bend.

Lily had never seen a man as huge as the bus driver before. He looked like a small giant, with bushy black hair and beard, his hair tied up in a very messy ponytail underneath his military green cap. Though he was really a big softie, Mary and the twins had informed her as they'd stepped on the bus, greeting Hagrid enthusiastically.

"We know, Hagrid!" Fabian and Gideon called back, causing some laughter to be heard around the almost full bus.

"I know yer two know it, but I thought of the new kids!" Hagrid shouted back to them, though everyone could hear the chuckles in his voice.

"Good of you!" Mary agreed and was met with both eye rolls and approving nods.

Lily didn't pay any attention to whatever conversation that took place. She was staring out the window, almost pressing her face against it. God, she was thankful that she had managed to get the window seat even though Fabian had fought valiantly to get it first. But she had wanted it and now she was glad she had been so stubborn.

Hogwarts didn't look like the usual schools Lily had been to or visited. It wasn't some dull building, looking timid and ragged and it wasn't some posh, modern looking school with many huge windows and crooked edges. No, Hogwarts was different. Magical. It was a huge castle, looking to belong in a fairytale. It had turrets and towers popping up almost everywhere against the blue September sky. The school looked safe and steady and the grounds were still green, only a few of the trees hinting to change their colors.

As the bus drove up the long road, following the rest of the busses, Lily couldn't help but get a déjà vu feeling, like she had been there before. It hit her that the school looked eerily like the castle in her dreams where she had been working. She smiled to herself, letting her hair fall into her face. How strange fate worked sometimes.

"Quite the sight, huh?" commented Fabian next to her, nudging her playfully in the shoulder.

"Yeah", she breathed in response as they now drove through some gates, high and iron wrought and classical stylish. "It is magical."

"Told you so", Mary said smugly from the seat behind them.

"No one said anything else, Murderous", said Gideon, leaning one arm over the back of Lily's seat.

The bus parked on the huge courtyard amongst the other busses. The many students got out and ran to each other, chatting happily, needing to catch up from the summer holidays. They all looked like a very strange flock of birds, dressed in every color, but with black being the leading one.

"Thanks for the ride, Hagrid", thanked Mary as she made her way out of their bus, nearly being squashed together by a pair of excited twelve year olds.

"Yeah, thanks", echoed Fabian.

"No worries", Hagrid said, waiting for everyone to get out. "Now, I don' want to see yer two runnin' around in places yer shouldn't be in, alright?"

He gave Fabian and Gideon a firm look, his black eyes both determined and warm. The twins looked at each other before breaking out into two identical smiles.

"Don't worry, Hagrid", smiled Gideon as he followed his brother out of the open doors, the crowd being like a long road sign in front of them. "We'll behave."

"Scouts honor!" could they hear Fabian shout from the outside.

Hagrid shook his large, bushy head but couldn't hide the fond expression on his face.

"Those two", he muttered, before saying cheerfully to Lily, who was left behind as she took the surroundings in: "Yeh'll have a nice firs' day, Lily. Yer going to love Hogwarts. I did and still do, as a matter o' fact."

"Thanks, Hagrid", Lily smiled and stepped out of the bus.

She found Mary, Fabian and Gideon waiting for her in the crowd. They seemed at ease, happy to be back. The air was buzzing with enthusiasm and Lily felt that it was hard not to be affected by it.

"Okay, Luscious, here's the deal", explained Fabian and swung an arm around Lily's shoulder. "First, we have to get to the Great Hall for Dumbledore's speech as usual. . . ."

"A very boring one that is", Mary interjected, moving her fingers in a way that indicated that she needed a smoke.

"It's tradition", said Gideon and threw his arm around her shoulders. "And you should really quite smoking. It's unhealthy."

Mary ignored him, pouting a bit with her lips. Fabian continued as if he hadn't heard them, though he spoke louder now as they passed a crowd of scream-laughing teenage girls. Lily grimaced; the girls' high-pitched voices reminded her a bit of Petunia's on a bad day. Which basically meant every day.

Fabian explained that after the Headmaster's speech, Lily should meet with the deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall – who also was the Geography and Technique professor. She was the one in charge of the scholarship kids.

"So, which program are you going to study?" wondered Gideon as the four of them fought to get inside the school.

The doors were high and wide, but it was still very difficult for everyone to get through at the same time. Lily suspected that she would have some bruises when the day was over.

"I've requested the Gryffindor program", she told them as they were now standing in an enormous hall, cramped together, waiting for more instructions. "Though, I gathered that we have classes with people from the other programs as well?"

"Yeah", nodded Gideon, trying not to suffocate by all the smells of perfumes, aftershave and sweat. "And all the four programs have different focus in each program. And if some classes in our year are too small, we might get to share them with older students, since we're now in year seven. If we had been sixth years, we've would have shared with people from year five and four. The same goes for the other three younger years."

"But now we have some kind of power", grinned Fabian, bouncing on his heels.

"Yeah, we're the youngest of the oldest", Mary said sarcastically, hands in her pocket, looking out over the crowd.

"What programs do you study?" Lily asked curious, contemplating if she should hold her nose to shut all the scents out.

"We're all in Gryffindor with the police program as focus."

Lily felt a little disappointed that she was the only one of them with the focus on becoming a doctor. Though they assured her that they would probably have most of their classes together with her all the same.

They were soon let into the Great Hall. It was even bigger than the hall they had been standing in before. It had a lot of square tables spread out over the room and upon the podium stood another long table, meant for the teachers. The hall was very bright as the roof was of glass, making it able for them all to see the sky outside. Lily was overwhelmed.

"This way", said Mary and grabbed her hand, dragging Lily through the crowd to one of the tables far to the left.

It was one of the Gryffindor tables. They sat down next to the twins who were in a deep discussion with another boy Lily didn't know. He wore a black hoodie so she couldn't see his face. He didn't acknowledge either Mary or her.

"Best not to interrupt", advised Mary with a calculating look at the three boys.

Lily wanted to ask more, but was torn with the feeling of coming off too pushy if she did. Before she had decided if she should ask Mary or not, the doors closed and the talking somewhat died down. Lily focused her gaze on the teachers table, which was full. The Headmaster had stood up, gripping a microphone, ready to hold his speech.

Albus Dumbledore. Lily had only read about the old man and she didn't know how she would describe him other than he was brilliant. He had long, silver hair and beard. His suit was of an expensive design. It was purple and he had a black hat funnily askew on his head. He wore glasses and radiated happiness. It was clear to Lily that he was the sun in this system, the one that kept the school going.

"Welcome", he said and his old, deep voice rang a bit false from the speakers. He didn't seem bothered by this. "To another spectacular year at Hogwarts. And to our new students: welcome to your first year at Hogwarts. I hope that you will find your time hear instructive and fun."

He continued telling them all about the rules – seeming to speak directly to the Gryffindor tables – and about the teachers and classes. It was a very odd collection of teachers, Lily had to admit. She tried to hang on to Dumbledore's every word, but it was hard seeing as Mary whispered her own information about the teachers in Lily's ear.

". . . . and I hope you'll all have a fantastic year ahead of you."

The hall is immediately full of sounds again: voices, chairs being pushed back, footsteps and the sound of organized chaos. Lily was separated from the others as she would wait for McGonagall to come with further more instructions. Mary said that hopefully they would see each other in the next class while Fabian and Gideon pretended to cry of sadness because they needed to leave their new friend.

"We redheads need to stick together!" they said before being brutally pulled out of the Great Hall by Mary.

Lily couldn't help but smile, even though her cheeks had heated up again. Her easy way of blushing must have something to do with her being a redhead. The Great Hall was slowly becoming empty. At the Gryffindor tables, there was only Lily and two younger kids – a boy and a girl.

The teacher also started to make their way out of the hall. They all had different expressions on their faces: some looked worried, others happy, excited, vague or sour. Eventually, only the Head of the Programs were left with the scholarship kids. There were most kids at the Hufflepuff tables and the least at the Slytherin tables.

"Miss Evans."

McGonagall walked over towards Lily. She had a stern face, black hair in a tight bun and glasses. She was strictly dressed in a long black skirt and an emerald green knitted sweater. Lily thought she looked to be a competent teacher and that was something she liked.

"Yes, professor", she answered politely.

McGonagall looked her over, a quick critical glance before continuing. As she didn't comment Lily's clothes, she guessed she passed the school's dress code.

"Miss Evans, I presume you have gotten the basic information of the school through mail, yes?"

"That's correct."

"Good. You'll still be getting a manual about the rules and facts about the school. I have you schedule here and your locker key. The Gryffindors lockers are on the seventh floor, just follow the stairs. If there's any trouble, don't hesitate to ask. My door's always open and the Headmaster always likes to know if there is any trouble happening. He wants everyone to be happy while studying here."

"I'll be fine, professor. It's not the first time for me to change school and I'll manage to adapt quickly."

McGonagall gave her what she thought must've been a smile, however brief it was. It made Lily feel better.

"Well, you're a bright girl have I heard, Miss Evans. I'm sure you'll fit right in here. Here's your schedule and key. Seventh floor, as I said."

Lily accepted her things, her fingers itching of expectations. She admired her own self-control. She would have liked to rip open the envelopes and read all the papers through. But she didn't.

"Thank you, professor."

"You're welcome", answered McGonagall briskly and looked down the table at the other two students. "Your first lesson will start in twenty minutes. I suggest you prepare yourself."

"I will, professor."

With a last nod, professor McGonagall went to inform the other two Gryffindor kids about the school and their day. Lily made her way out the hall, so absorbed in her papers that she didn't noticed the boy until she bumped straight into him.

"I'm sorry", she said as she quickly hunched down and picked up some of the papers she had dropped in surprise. "I didn't pay attention to where I was going."

"It's fine", the boy answered quietly, looking torn if he should help her with the papers or not. "I was. . . . occupied as well."

He didn't have time to make a decision, because Lily was soon done and stood up again. She straightened up and smiled apologetically. She recognized the boy now. He had been the only scholarship kid who had been accepted into the Slytherin program. He was in her age, skinny with sallow skin and a large nose. He was dressed in old, black shabby-looking clothes which matched his eyes and greasy hair. He was looking at her with those unreadable black eyes and Lily felt a tad bit uncomfortable, but didn't show it.

"Well, sorry again", she said. "I really need to go. . . ."

"I'm Severus Snape."

The boy blurted out his name with such force you would've thought he wanted to say it before he regretted it. He looked a bit surprised as he'd said it and Lily got the feeling that he wasn't much of a social person either. She could relate to that. Severus now looked uncomfortable, an ugly shade of pink breaking out over his cheeks behind his long hair. His eyes were focused on his feet.

"I'm Lily Evans", Lily introduced herself, sympathizing with him.

He looked up again and smiled slowly.

"Lily. . . .", he repeated.

Lily nodded, but felt that the time flied and she had to get to the seventh floor with her things before class started. So she excused herself, saying that they would see each other around here. Severus only hummed in agreement, still with that small smile on his face.

Lily managed to find her way to the staircase – it wasn't that hard – and became standing with her mouth open, no doubt looking like a fool. It was like a labyrinth of staircases, much like one of those towers you built when you were little, with kaplanova rods. Lily was once again hit with the image of her dream, remembering how exhausting it had been to run up all the stairs. Sighing, she guessed it was just to start going.

'Going up these staircases every day and I could miss out on the PE lessons", she thought with attempting cheerfulness.

On her way up to the seventh floor, she met several people, all greeting her with a polite nod. She nodded back, trying not to show her growing frustration. She didn't like these stairs. Not a bit. And her bag felt like it was full of rocks. Her back would surely be aching after this.

Finally, she arrived at the seventh floor and with that odd feeling of déjà vu, she located a door and when she opened it, she knew she had found the right place. She entered a round room with red and gold decorations. The walls were lined up with red lockers and from the view of the windows; Lily guessed they were in one of the school's towers. The room seemed to be working as some kind of common room, having both some tables and armchairs to sit in.

Lily looked around, trying to find someone she knew or her locker. She easily found Fabian and Gideon, their bright red hair standing out in the chattering crowd. She went over to them.

"Hi", she said breathlessly, fumbling with her key.

"Lily", said Gideon pleasantly surprised. "How nice of you to join us."

Lily smiled, rolled her eyes and asked if they knew where her locker might be. The twins directed her to a locker in the section with a big black 'seven' written over the collection of lockers.

"There you go", Fabian said brightly. "They're in alphabetic order, so you're number 2."

Lily locked up her locker. The inside was rather dull; a few shelves to have her books on and two coat hooks to hang her jacket and bag on. She took of her jacket and picked out her pencil-case, before closing and locking again.

"So, what lesson do you have now?" wondered Fabian and playfully snatched Lily's schedule from out of her hand.

He looked at it, brows furrowing, looking extremely thoughtful. Eventually he handed it back as Gideon waved Mary over.

"You'll have Math's first with professor Vector. We're in that class. She's kind of cool. Doesn't give much homework but her detention's. . . ."

"Horrible", Mary butted in, joining the others. "Trust me, these two would know."

She jerked her head at the twins, who didn't even pretend to be offended. On the contrary, they seemed to be smiling even wider. Lily got a bad feeling about those smiles. She bit her lip.

"Don't tell me I've made friends with the schools troublemakers?" she asked, fearing for the worst.

She had always avoided the kids that created trouble of any sorts in her old school. They had often teased her about being a 'nerd' because she read so much. Her younger years at school had been horrible because of that. It had made her opinion of troublemakers very low.

Mary laughed loudly, attracting some stares from a couple of younger kids.

"Trust me", she said humorously, but with a hint of steel in her eyes, "there are worse troublemakers than Fabulous and Gorgeous here."

"Sadly, yes", nodded Gideon in mock sadness.

"Worse?" Lily swallowed. "And I only got the feeling that you two were pranksters. You mean to tell me that there are a lot of pranksters or troublemakers here?"

She tried not to let her voice go up in falsetto. It would be her nightmare all over again and that would really destroy her plans on starting all over again. The other three shared a look Lily couldn't quite place before Fabian broke into a smile.

"Don't worry; we won't let anyone mess with you."

"No, we respect people with a love for books."

"Thanks. . . . come on, we should be going to class."

"I don't have Math right now", Mary sighed in dismay, glaring at her schedule. "So I'll see you at lunch later."

"Sounds like a date."

"You wish."

Lily enjoyed their friendly banter, but she couldn't help but thinking: 'What could be worse than two mischievous prankster twins?'

* * *

**How about that? A bit of information about the school and meeting Snape. **

**Leave a review, follow or favourite if you feel for it. Would mean a lot to me. **


	4. First lessons, official meeting

**Once again, a new chapter! **

**As usual, a huge 'thank you' to anyone who read and support this story in some way. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: First lessons, official meeting **

Professor Septima Vector was a short woman with thick brown hair and a pleasant smile. She didn't had much time to actually teach this lesson since it had been shortened due to the fact that it was the first day of school, but she handled them a layout of what they would cover this term and books. Lily decided that even if Math wasn't her favorite subject, she thought she could manage this. After all, Vector seemed more than capable enough. The class was mixed with students from all four programs (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw), but Lily only knew Fabian and Gideon, who seemed to know a fair few of the other students, but they spent most of the lesson to fold paper airplanes than telling Lily the names of the others. Lily was grateful for that, trying to concentrate on taking notes on a bit of everything professor Vector said.

After the lesson, it was lunch – which also took place in the Great Hall – and after a quick visit to the common room to leave their books, they made their way downstairs. The lunch was served in a room next to the hall and when they stood in line to wait for their turn, Mary caught up with them.

"I don't know how I'll manage", she declared dramatically as she stood next to Fabian. "I spent forty minutes in Spanish class and there were almost two girls that fainted. Why does the teacher have to be so bloody gorgeous. . . ."

"Hey, that's my name!"

". . . . it's disturbing, because how, in the name of God and everything that's holy, will we be able to learn something when the teacher is occupying our minds with something else than his teaching skills. . . ."

"Honestly, Mary. . . ."

"The images I just got. . . ."

Lily tried to remember the face of the Spanish teacher. It came up blank: she had even forgotten his name. She cleared her throat, the sound immediately wiping away Mary's somewhat dreamy expression mixed with annoyance.

"Who's the Spanish professor again? I've forgotten."

"Don't worry", said Gideon. "It will take time to learn them all. I've been here since I was eleven and I can sometimes mix them together. . . ."

"You have a memory like a goldfish, brother", pointed Fabian out fondly.

"Anyway. . . . the Spanish teacher's called Firenze", explained Mary and the name sounded a bit exotic. "He's tall, blond, with the most wonderful blue eyes there is." Fabian and Gideon looked somewhat offended. "He's one of those men – if you have no dignity at all – you would hang up as posters on your wall. And when he speaks Spanish. . . ."

Mary trailed off and Lily laughed slightly. The twins grinned as well. The line moved forwards. Mary came to her senses again, shaking her head so her earrings tinkled.

"Well, he's not the only good-looking teacher. The French/Religion teacher isn't bad on the eyes either. . . ."

"But he's creepy", the twins chorused together.

"I mean have you seen him?" Fabian asked disbelievingly, but cut off Mary before she could answer: "Of course you have, but there's just something odd about him."

"We reckon he's a vampire", Gideon informed Lily who looked interested. "He wears those creepy red lenses."

"Apart from that, he's tall, dark and handsome", Mary sighed and Lily thought she was overreacting just to rile up the twins.

"He's so pale that he looks like he's been stepping out from a Twilight book", said Fabian seriously as if there wasn't any bigger crime than that.

"His name was Tom Riddle, right?" Lily asked, trying to remember. "I'll be having him as a teacher then."

"Lucky you."

"No!" cried Fabian in horror, attracting some stares but they were soon averted, people being used to a scene like that. "He'll suck your blood and rip out your soul."

"Don't worry", Gideon assured her, putting an arm around Lily's shoulder. "I mean it: we'll look after you. You can borrow our garlic spray if you want to, just in case."

"Why would you even have garlic spray from the beginning?" Mary questioned them.

Lily looked at the twins weirdly, torn between laughter and nervousness. They shared a quick look, before their ears started to become a bit pink. Lily thought it funny that they even blushed the same.

The twins were saved from answering however, as it soon became their turn to get food. The cafeteria was clean and smelled of food and soap. It was a rather unattractive smell, Lily thought and she wrinkled her nose as she took a tray and went with the crowd. She decided for a chicken salad, a piece of chocolate cake and bubblewater.

"Enjoy your meal", the food lady told her, though the term here should be 'food man'.

Lily regognized him as the professor who taught German, though his name was gone from her mind. He had blond, wavy hair which he had dyed, because his face was too old and wrinkled for it to be possible for him to have blond as his real hair color. His eyes were blue and mischievous and his smile was mysterious. Lily thought he must've looked quite handsome in his younger years.

"Thanks", she said lightly, following Gideon and Fabian out from the room, Mary right behind her.

"If we're talking about creepy professors", Mary whispered as they made their way into the Great Hall, "he should be on the top of the list. There's just something evil about him. . . ."

"Nonsense", Fabian said distractingly, looking around for a table in the hall which was crowded with people. "Professor Grindelwald is a great teacher."

"Gellert Grindelwald", explained Gideon as Mary and Fabian continued to bicker teasingly with each other. "He's likeable enough and his lessons are always interesting. Fabian and I have studied German since third year."

Lily listened with interest, making mental notes to everything she had explained to her. Eventually Fabian found a near enough empty table. The only person sitting there was the same boy Lily had seen the twins talk to before: the boy with the black hoodie.

"Do you mind if we sit down, Mad-Eye?" asked Mary, even though Fabian and Gideon had already put their trays down.

"Don't have much of choice, do I?" the boy – Mad-Eye– commented dryly.

The twins grinned and Mary rolled her eyes. Lily carefully sat down between Fabian and Mary, turning to properly look at Mad-Eye. The sight made her eyes wide and she had to fight so her shock wouldn't be visible on her face. Mad-Eye's face was a labyrinth of scars, pale and lightly pink, and a bit of his nose was missing. One of his eyes were missing as well, instead it was a blue, glass one. It didn't match his other eye, which was a dark brown color. It wasn't a face you would expect a teenage boy to have. He smiled at Lily, but still looked frightening.

"Not a pretty sight, eh?" he asked her and she blushed but didn't turn away. He seemed to admire that. "That's what you get when you have someone after you who wants you dead."

Lily stared, but Mad-Eye didn't say more. He started to eat his lunch, not seeming bothered by the slightly awkward silence.

"Well", Gideon cleared his throat. "Lily, this is Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody and he's doing his last year here. Mad-Eye, meet Lily Evans. She's new."

"A scholarship kid then", mused Moody out loud. "You better watch out. It can be a bit. . . . dangerous for the likes of you here."

Instead of feeling scared, Lily felt her temper coming through. Her eyes flashed dangerously, going from person to person around the table.

"What kind of stupid high school movie is this? Do you mean that just because I'm new and perhaps not as wealthy as the rest of you, I'll be bullied? Is this school ruled by jocks and popular girls as well?"

She wouldn't be surprised. It had all seemed too good to be true.

"We have a lot of 'popular' gangs here", Fabian said, nodding in a direction of another table. "One more popular than the other."

"And as I said before", continued Mary. "There will be people who'll think you don't belong here, but it's just for you to prove them wrong."

"Besides, you've got us", said Gideon, playing with his pasta. "We'll look after you."

"This system here is as foul as the one out in the real world", Moody said gruffly, his blue eye never blinking. "Just a little friendly advice."

Lily didn't hear any of what they'd just said. Her gaze had followed the direction of Fabian's nod, looking at a group of 'the popular kids' as they were dubbed. They were six at the table and Lily froze, feeling her pulse quickening and face drain of all color. She was unable to look away from one of the boys at the table.

It couldn't be. It was impossible.

"What's his name?" she interrupted the others in a strangled voice. "What's his name?"

If the others found her behavior a bit odd, they didn't show it. Instead they provided Lily with information about the six students at the table.

"The four boys are The Marauders", Mary told her. "Stupid name, but they're the biggest troublemakers you'll find here."

"Our biggest rivals", sighed Fabian in mock despair.

Peter Pettigrew was the plump, blond haired boy with a shifty look about him. He was the guy who could get you anything you wanted ("Porn, cigarettes or Dumbledore's underwear, you'll name it and he'll get it.") and he had contacts in every age from every program. Moody called him 'the Rat' just for his ability to always sneak around places, listening in on people. He was one of the most active gossipers in the whole school.

Remus Lupin was a tall, skinny boy with light brown hair and sickly air around him ("We reckon he's a werewolf, 'cause he's often sick, like once a month or something." "Yeah, 'cause there's absolutely no other explanation than that. It's not like he could just be a normal boy who gets a bit sick once in a while. . . ."). He was apparently very studious and it showed, because he had a book opened, leaning against his glass of milk while he ate. Out of the group, he was the most 'mature one' and he loved chocolate, bordering to obsession. Lily could understand him and felt like he would be a guy after her taste.

Then it was Sirius Black, with long black hair and a face belonging to a Greek God ( "Or to a very well-paid manly stripper."). He was the womanizer of the group, which Mary repeated numerous times, and Lily didn't find that hard to believe. With a face like that, an arrogant and playful air about him and clothes that screamed out wealth, she could understand why he would have so many girls tangled up in his web. Lily herself couldn't deny that he was attractive. Even when he threw up grapes in the air only to catch them in his mouth, he looked gorgeous. His actions were met with applauses from Peter and an eye roll from one of the two girls also sitting at the table.

The girl who rolled her eyes had blonde hair, a pretty face and a body of a model. She was Marlene McKinnon, Sirius on-and-off girlfriend ("They are the perfect couple: good-looking, egocentric and both with as much dignity as a drunken nudist."). Marlene was known for throwing the biggest parties and for being one of the best candidates for the position as Head Girl in a few years' time ("She'll probably bribe them all to vote for her."). From what Lily could see, Marlene didn't seem like a completely witch as Mary described her. Sure, she looked a bit snobbish, but her smile was warm and genuine when she looked at her boyfriend.

The other girl was Marlene's cousin, Alice Smith. Alice had a round face, big innocent doe eyes and dirty blonde hair, bordering to brown. Lily's companions didn't have any bad to say about Alice ("I swear, that girl's a humanly teddy bear."). She was kind, helpful and leader of the school's many clubs. They did say that she had a bit of a bad memory though.

Alice caught Lily staring and smiled uncertainly at her. Lily felt embarrassed at being caught staring and she smiled a thin lipped smile back. Alice leaned to say something to the boy next to her and it was that boy who had caught Lily's attention from the beginning. When Alice had spoken to him, he turned his head around and met Lily's gaze.

Lily turned red, probably as red as her hair, but she didn't look away. He had a thin face, a mop of messy black hair and familiar hazel eyes behind a pair of round glasses. He looked exactly like James from her dream and Lily thought that she must've fallen asleep and was dreaming. It wasn't possible that he could be real.

The boy's eyes widened perhaps a little bit when he locked eyes with her and Lily thought she must've imagined the slight bit of recognition that flashed in his eyes for a moment.

"And that's. . . ."

"Shh, they're having a Bella and Edward moment here", Lily vaguely perceived Fabian say to Mary.

"Will you stop with the Twilight comments, please?"

"It's your fault, Murderous. You made us watch the movies and Skeeter forced us to read the first book in English class."

"One of the worst moments in my life."

"God, just. . . . stop."

"Well, I'll be going!" Moody barked and slammed down his bottle on his tray, the sound making Lily tear her gaze away from the boy.

"Already?" Gideon asked in surprise.

"A man can only stand your company for so long. It was good to meet you, Evans."

"Likewise."

"Just be careful around here. Constant vigilance. The Marauders are trouble, but there are worse people here. A friendly advice."

"Thanks. . . .", Lily trailed off as Moody took his tray and went out of the hall.

"I should be going as well", Mary said and ate the last of her tuna sandwich. "I've got PE with professor Hooch and she'll skin me alive if I'm late. I swear, she's out to get me."

"We got PE as well", slurped Gideon as he ate the last of his soup. "You too, Luscious?"

"No", Lily said, looking disappointed and trying not to look back at the boy at the next table. "I've got Chemistry with professor Slughorn."

"That's a shame."

"Though Slughorn is a nice teacher, a bit pompously perhaps, but kind enough."

"But he has his favorites."

"Do you think you'll find your way, Lily? The Chemistry class is down in the dungeons, just follow the stairs. . . ."

"The dungeons?" Lily repeated an octave higher than usual; a picture of a dark and creepy place filled with rats came into her mind. "Isn't that dangerous? What if someone blows up the classroom, then the whole castle could fall."

The twins started to laugh. They told her how cute she was and that Hogwarts was the safest place in the whole world. It wouldn't break because of an accident in the dungeons. Lily thought about what Moody had said about that there were nasty people at Hogwarts, but she didn't spoke her doubts out loud.

They ate the last of their lunch before leaving the hall. Lily felt like someone was watching her all the way out. They left their trays and Grindelwald waved at them as they did so. The twins waved back and Lily smiled, but Mary muttered: "Creepy" under her breath. Lily had to rush up the stairs to get her things and she thought that she needed to get a system so she wouldn't have to run up the stairs between every class.

The four friends separated in the Entrance Hall and Lily made her way down to the dungeons. It was chiller down there and a bit darker. The lights were spooky, dim and flickered like a ghost. The people that she passed looked at her with cold expressions, some of them sneering. It made Lily uncomfortable and she thought of Moody's 'constant vigilance.' She took a tighter grip of her bag as she continued her way through the mysterious corridors, searching for the right classroom.

"Lily!"

She automatically turned her head around and felt a bit of relief as she saw Severus coming towards her, looking like a shadow. She felt better when she knew at least someone even if they hadn't actually had a proper conversation, it was still better than nothing.

"Hi", Lily smiled as he caught up with her.

"Hi", he replied, carefully shaking some of his greasy hair out of his face. "What are you doing down here?"

"I'm having Chemistry. You?"

"The same and my locker is here somewhere as well."

They talked a bit more, finding the classroom with ease. Turned out that Severus was a big chemistry fan as Lily was. Both agreed that it was something fascinating with experimenting with different liquids: thrilling and exciting.

Horace Slughorn was a blond man with a great mustache and a big belly. He had a pleasant, booming laugh and a likable personality according to Lily. He started the lesson with introducing himself, giving out books and papers he wanted their parent to sign so they were aware of the precautions and security rules in the classroom. After all, they would be experimenting with some dangerous liquids.

Twenty minutes into the lesson, the door opened and Sirius Black and the James-lookalike stepped into the room. Slughorn chuckled as if this was a normal occurrence.

"Ah, Mr Black and Mr. . . ."

The rest of his sentence was lost to Lily as Severus – who sat next to her – happened to shut his Chemistry book with a bit of too much force. She glared at him, having wanted to know the name of the boy so her mind could be put at peace, and Severus looked surprise at her sudden change. Lily realized that she had come off as a bit harsh and she smiled apologetically and he seemed to accept that, though his black eyes didn't leave her for the rest of the lesson.

. . . .

Lily was somewhat pleased with her day. After Chemistry, she had had English with professor Rita Skeeter, a blonde woman with horribly fashion sense and a love for gossip. Lily didn't get the best impression of her, but she thought she could manage her for the rest of the year.

Professor Charity Burbage who taught Social Studies seemed very competent. It was a kind, smiling woman who apparently was one of those who could support different associations and stand out in the rain a whole day for the cause of the people that worked in that particularly company.

Yes, Lily found her day good. The only thing that bothered her was that she hadn't been able to get to know the boy with the messy hair's name. It bothered her a great deal and she almost started to think she had imagined him, that she was the only person who could see him.

So, naturally, when she stood and waited for the busses to come and pick all the students up and she saw the boy and his little gang standing a distance from her, it was only the logically thing to do to go and ask for his name. She went up to them where they stood and grabbed the boy's arm, feeling a bit mad but relieved when she felt that he was flesh and blood. She wasn't that mad after all.

They all looked at her funnily; like they wondered what planet she came from. Lilt ignored them, only looking straight into the boy's eyes that were as warm as she remembered them to be.

"What's your name?" she asked and she hated that her voice sounded desperate. "What's your name?"

He looked at her, brows furrowed as he seemed to think over what he would answer. His friends stood and watched the two of them, unsure what to do. Eventually, the boy decided to answer:

"I'm James Potter", he told her and his voice sounded exactly the same as in her dream.

She let go of his arm as if she had burned herself. Her face flushed and her head was spinning. How was this possible?

"What's yours?" James wondered after a few seconds of consideration, a smile slowly forming on his lips.

Lily could hear one of his friends sigh hopelessly next to them. She didn't know if she should answer. This was so strange. She tried to speak, but words failed her and James looked worriedly at her. Lily didn't want to know how she looked: probably like a very crazy and demented fangirl or something.

"Lily!"

Once again, Lily automatically turned her head around. Mary came walking briskly towards the group, her face closed off but her eyes burning. Lily could practically feel the tension in the air increase as Mary came closer and slung her arm around Lily's shoulder, almost protectively.

"There you are", she tried to say in a light tone. "Fabian, Gideon and I were looking for you. The busses are here."

It was true; the busses had started to fill the courtyard. Lily felt embarrassed and kept her gaze at her hands. Mary gently tugged at her, but Lily could sense that she wanted to get away from The Marauders and co as fast as she could.

"Hi, Mary", James said slowly and rubbed his neck awkwardly. "How are you?"

The attempt to conversation was pathetic and Lily fought not to giggle.

"I'm fine, thanks", Mary answered sweetly, the 'but I'll be even better if I get out of here' clearly visible in the air.

James looked awkward. Peter was staring at the two girls with half open mouth. Remus was looking at the ground. Marlene inspected her nails, trying to appear casual. Sirius only stared, his mouth thin. Alice seemed to want to say something, but couldn't think of what.

"Well, we should get going", Mary said and started to steer Lily away towards Fabian and Gideon who were watching from a distance. "See you around."

She didn't wait for an answer. When they had walked a few steps, Lily could hear one of the boys – she guessed it was Sirius, because that voice seemed to belong to a troublemaker – say:

"Mate, I don't know what your parents have taught you, but it's common knowledge that you don't give out your name to strangers – especially mental ones – and then ask for their names in return. That's just as equally crazy as she was."

Lily sighed in frustration and tried to get her face to cool down.

"What were you thinking, Lily?" Mary wanted to know. "To just march up to them like that. . . ."

"I just wanted to know his name", Lily answered quickly and defensive. "He looked like someone I've seen before. . . ."

Mary pinched her nose and grimaced.

"You could've asked, you know. He's name's James Potter and he can be an arrogant prick sometimes, but that's mostly to people who don't know him. He's the star on the football team, a clear shot for captain next year. He and Sirius are the biggest pranksters around here. You should just. . . . stay away from those six, alright? Nothing good will come out of it, okay?"

Mary sounded sure, but Lily got the feeling it was something she wasn't telling her. She decided to let it be for now: after all, they had only met this morning and that wasn't long enough to start to spill secrets. But Lily wondered what The Marauders could've done that would make Mary despise them so.

They stepped onto one of the busses. Hagrid wasn't driving this time. Lily didn't get a window seat, but she could still see The Marauders and the two girls step on the bus next to theirs. For a moment, James stopped and turned around as if he could sense Lily watching him. She quickly averted her gaze and wondered how it was even possible that she could've dreamed of someone before she had even met him.

* * *

**So: Lily's first day's done. **

**If you have any questions, just PM me or leave a review (you could always leave a review even if you don't have a question. A little hint. . . .). **


	5. A girl & a boy

**New chapter! **

**As always; 'thank you' to everyone that support and acknowledging this story in some kind of way. It makes writing even funnier. **

_Dreams are always in italics. _

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: A girl & a boy**

_She was sitting on a swing in the playground. Her childish laugh filled the warm summer air as she swung higher and higher. It was exciting to be at the playground alone. Her mother would never let her swing this high. The wind swept through her dark red hair, like a gentle hand. She smiled and laughed. She was so caught up in her excitement that she didn't notice the boy, leaning on a tree a small distance from the swing set. He had watched her for a while, being drawn to her enthusiasm and laughter, but also more than sure that he could swing higher than her. _

_He left his place beneath the shelter of the oak's brilliant green leaves and made his way over to the swings. He stopped at a suitable distance so she wouldn't swing right into him. He cleared his throat before announcing in an important, boyish voice: _

_ "__I bet I could swing higher than you." _

_She let the swing slow down and put her feet down to stop the swing completely. Her brows were furrowed and her eyes narrowed. Her eyes made him think of the leaves of the oak, not that he was going to tell her that. She crossed her arms. _

_ "__Really?" she said skeptically, peering at him. "Why?" _

_ "__Because I'm a boy", he explained with as much obviousness as a seven year old could muster. "Boys are better at everything." _

_ "__That's not true!" she retorted fiercely and glared at him. "Girls can cook and clean. Plus, girls are smarter." _

_ "__Are not!" _

_ "__Are too!" _

_They glared at each other for a while before he sighed, ruffled up his already messy hair and pushed his glasses up his nose. _

_ "__Girls can cook", he admitted reluctantly, "but I still bet I can swing higher than you." _

_ "__Prove it", she dared him, looking as dangerous as a seven year old could. _

_He smirked and grabbed one of the swings next to her. He sat down and she looked at him with narrowed eyes._

_ "__Ready?" he asked her politely, because his dad had taught him that you should always ask with the girl first. _

_She scoffed at him, putting her nose in the air. He thought she was the most annoying girl he'd ever met. _

_Simultaneously, they started to swing. They went higher and higher, kicking their short legs as much as they could. The wind whipped their faces and ruffled their hair as the sun painted their faces with bright spots. She closed her eyes, forgetting that she was in a competition, and laughed out loud again. She imagined that she was a bird, free to fly wherever she wanted to. _

_He found her less annoying now and he could grudgingly admit that she had a nice laugh. Their speed was equal, but he didn't want to lose to a girl, so he swung his legs a bit more and he took the lead. He was dangerously high now, his swing almost swinging over. And suddenly he lurched forward and onto the hard ground. He managed to put down his hands to prevent the fall, but it hurt and he fought not to cry. Boys didn't cry, especially not in the company of a girl. _

_She slowed her swing down and jumped off it before it had stopped properly. She kneeled next to him and felt her heart ache as she saw his sparkling hazel eyes glistening with unshed tears. He had dropped his glasses. _

_ "__Does it hurt?" she asked him worriedly and gently put the glasses back on his face. _

_He blinked, trying to get the tears to disappear. His glasses had cracks in them and he felt ashamed when he realized what his parents would say. _

_ "__M'fine", he mumbled, avoiding looking at her worried, freckled face. _

_He stared at his hands. They were red and had scratches, burning. His knees felt sore as well and when he moved, he saw that he was bleeding. A lump formed in his throat and a few tears escaped his eyes. _

_She felt like crying herself and she rummaged her pockets and found her handkerchief her grandmother had made for her. She handed it to the boy, who accepted it, drying his tears with his head turned away from her. _

_ "__Better?" she asked hopefully, even though his knees and palms looked very bad. _

_He sniffed and handed back the handkerchief. She held out her hands and gently grabbed his hands and dragged him to his feet. She hoped she wouldn't die of boy germs after this. He managed to stand, though his knees hurt. _

_ "__Come on", she said, gently tugging his hand. "Let's get you home." _

_They walked out from the playground, still holding hands. He might have imagined it, but his hand didn't seem to hurt as much when she held it. _

_Turned out that they didn't live far from each other. His mother fussed over him as soon as they stepped onto the lawn. He found it embarrassing, but deep down he was glad when she patched him up and cleaned his wounds. His mother invited 'his sweet friend' to have some lemonade and cookies with them, seeing as she had been so kind to help him home. She politely accepted the invitation, trying to sound like her own mother did when she talked with other grown-ups. _

_They sat on the porch and ate chocolate cookies and lemonade, talking about everything that seven years old could possibly talk about. It wasn't until later the afternoon that she realized that she needed to go home, that her mother was probably worried sick. She thanked for the cookies and he followed her to the door, like a gentleman would, feeling his mother's gaze upon them both. _

_ "__I'll be going then", she said, shyly, biting her lower lip. _

_ "__Yeah", he said, not even bothering to hide his disappointment. "See you around?" _

_She broke out into a wide smile, emerald eyes sparkling. She nodded furiously and, after a moment of hesitation, gave him a quick hug. When she let go, both of them blushed furiously. He ruffled up his black hair._

_ "__See you tomorrow then." _

_ "__Yes. Try not to hurt yourself until then, okay? I don't want that." _

_ "__Promise." _

_She turned to leave, the sun still bright on the summer blue sky. It made her hair look like fire. She had only taken a few steps down the front porch, when he realized something. _

_ "__I don't know you name", he exclaimed, eyes wide at the thought. _

_She turned around, looking equally baffled when she realized she didn't know his either. He stuck out his hand to her, all clean and patched up, only a few hints of chocolate stains on his fingertips. _

_ "__I'm James." _

_She took his hand. Hers was soft and smelled of grass and chocolate. _

_ "__I'm Lily." _

* * *

**So, that was that. What do you think? **

**Review, follow or favourite if you feel for it. It's very much appreciated. **


	6. Of balls & prejudices

**New chapter! **

**As usual: 'thank you' everyone that acknowledges this story in some way. **

**I don't own anything Harry Potter-world all belongs to JK Rowling. **

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 5: Of balls & prejudices**

_October _

"Hello, love", the smooth voice of Sirius Black greeted Lily the first thing as she sat down in her seat, waiting for the lesson to start.

"I've told you, Black, that my name is Lily, not 'love'."

"Feisty today. Bad hair day?" he asked her casually as he turned around in his seat next to her, smirking.

Lily sighed in frustration, not even bother to hide it. Her friends had all been right when they had told her that The Marauders were nothing but trouble. Sirius Black was nothing but annoying, deciding to greet her in an overly cheerful mood every Thursday since when they'd gotten their assigned seats next to each other. Lily hated professor Riddle for that. The whole thing didn't get any better with Marlene McKinnon's (Sirius's now 'off' girlfriend) staring. Lily would very much appreciate to sit through a lesson in French without having to fear for her life, thank you very much.

Lily sighed once again in frustration – a habit she had been developing around Sirius – and put her books on her desk, glaring at Sirius as she did so.

"There's nothing wrong with my hair", she spat, touching it to make a statement. "And could you please tell your girlfriend to stop glaring at me like she wished I was ten feet under? It's unnerving. It's not like I will pounce on you and snog your senseless on the desk. She needs to cool off. . . ."

"Most girls would", Sirius smiled cheekily, leaning his chair back on two legs.

Another thing Lily absolutely hated about sitting next to Sirius in French – even more so than his glaring ex-girlfriend or whatever – was that he didn't hesitated on telling Lily about his love life. Well, they _had _gotten the assignment to interview their 'partner' as professor Riddle had expressed it (cue to basically all the girls to giggle) since they were now a new class, mixed with students from year seven, eight and nine and from all the four programs. Lily dearly hoped that Sirius was exaggerating because otherwise he would've taken the record for 'Most failed relationships before turning eighteen' a long time ago.

She looked at him with disapproving eyes before turning her head so she faced professor Riddle. Mary hadn't been wrong when she had said that Riddle was good-looking. He was in his early thirties and looked every bit aristocratic, though the twins had been right; his red eyes were creepy.

"Alright class", he said pleasantly in a bored voice. "I would like you to continue your interview. Remember; I'll grade both your writing skills and the talking part. Continue. And Miss Black, please stay after class. I'll need to discuss your grades with you."

He sounded a bit annoyed when he said the last part and Lily definitely didn't blame him for it. Bellatrix Black – Sirius's cousin – was in her last year and her French was 'horrible', which made it necessary for her to have private lessons with professor Riddle after school. Now, it wouldn't be that much of a talk if it wasn't for the fact that Bellatrix had the biggest crush on the French professor. It was a fact well-known.

"Of course, professor", she answered, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Riddle nodded curtly before turning his attention on another pair of students. Next to Lily, Sirius looked disgusted.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked Lily, though not expecting her to answer. "She's going on and on about family honor and pride and yet she acts like a slut herself. I mean, Riddle must be at least ten years older than her, perhaps even more. Hypocrite."

He glared at his cousin who followed the professor with her greedy eyes, ignoring her partner completely. Lily wasn't well-informed about everyone at Hogwarts yet, but she knew that Sirius had family issues. And with a cousin like that – who was rude and frankly evil when she wasn't in French class – Lily couldn't blame Sirius for wanting nothing to do with her.

"Wonder how much 'private' those private lessons are", mused Lily out loud and Sirius snorted beside her.

"What do you know Evans; you got a sense of humor after all."

"Shut it, Black."

"Miss Evans, Mr Black I would very much like if you could continue your conversation in French", Riddle interrupted them as he appeared at their desk like a shadow with blazing red eyes.

"Yes, professor", mumbled Lily, feeling uncomfortable under his red gaze.

He smiled at them both, making him seem even creepier and went to the students next to them. Lily let out a quiet breath. Hogwarts really was an odd school.

. . . .

"Now, I want a nice and clean game!" Madame Hooch bellowed in a threatening voice, silver whistle around her neck. "All of you!"

Her yellow hawk eyes promised trouble if anyone didn't follow the rules. Lily swallowed and nervously looked around at her team mates. They were going to play basketball which Lily would've hated even if they played girls versus girls. But no, Madame Hooch had made the teams a mixture of boys and girls. Dumbledore's orders. Apparently, he wanted PE to be more equal, since it had been the only subject which the boys and girls were separated in.

Lily's problem was that she was horrid at any form of sport that involved a ball. Her petite frame wasn't made for basketball, she had decided as she looked around at the others. She was one of the shortest there. This was one of the classes she didn't have with Mary, Fabian or Gideon. It was only seventh years there, from all programs. She waved at Severus who stood with one of her opposing teams. He smiled back at her.

In Lily's team were two Hufflepuffs, one Ravenclaw, one Slytherin and two Gryffindors; Lily and – to Lily's displeasure – James Potter, whom she had made a habit to avoid after their disastrous introduction a month ago. It sometimes was a bit difficult as they shared a few classes and a common room, but she managed. And it was not like he tried to talk to her, so avoidance became easy.

"Okay", James took command, seeming as it was as natural for him as to breathe. "Now, in this game, team work is the key. We need to communicate, to act like a team. We'll win on that. Just do your best."

Madame Hooch, who had passed by to give them their ribbons, nodded in agreement, her yellow eyes pleased. What was it with the teachers in this school and odd eyes?

Lily guessed James's speech was interesting and she actually felt somewhat excited to plague the pitch, throwing balls at her opponents and waving her arms like a maniac. Really.

They all put on their ribbons which would identify them as a team, as being united. Their first opponents did the same.

"Remember; do you best", said James and tied his ribbon around his head, black hair still managed not to lie flat. "That means no fouls, Mulciber. It's basketball, not a bloody war. Terrance, you're brilliant, but try to actually catch the ball instead of calculating its speed, alright? Great."

Mulciber, a broad shouldered boy from Slytherin, gave James the evil eye, but only growled in respond. Terrance, the tall boy from Ravenclaw, smiled sheepishly.

"Don't worry, Potter", said the other girl on the team, a Hufflepuff brunette. "We've got this in the bag."

James smiled fleetingly.

"I'm counting on it, Meadowes."

"Team's ready!" barked Madame Hooch, marching onto the middle of the pitch with a basketball under her arm.

Lily didn't like the color of it. It was like a huge bomb, the orange color seemed to say 'I'm coming to get you!'She felt a bit faint now.

As James and a Ravenclaw in the other team took their positions, Lily caught Severus's eye on the other team. He looked sour over being forced to play. Lily could relate to him. He smiled at her, the smile coming off more like a smirk.

"You're excited?" he mouthed to her, taking in her nervous fidgeting with her hair.

Lily tried to smile at him, but it came off as too bright and false.

"Shoot me now", she mouthed back and Severus forced down a snort.

"Ready? One, two, three!"

The ball was up in the air, looking like if Fabian or Gideon's hair would do if it decided to separate from their heads. Lily nervously moved a bit from side to side. James caught the ball first, almost knocking his opponent to the ground. This was some intense shit. James passed to the Hufflepuff boy who Lily thought was named Eddie. He then bounced the ball in a zigzag pattern, like lightening, before tossing the ball to the girl whose last name was Meadowes. She then passed to Mulciber and he bared his teeth and growled like a dog, scaring some poor girl in the other team, before scoring. Lily blinked. Why was she even on the pitch?

The game continued and Lily's face turned the same color as the basketball. She caught the ball four times, dropped it once and twice did she do some stupid step error. She barely moved an inch after that.

The match was almost over when Lily got shot.

Severus, whose strategy was 'the ball is a hot potato' (that meant getting rid of the ball as soon as you got it or you'll be 'burned') had thrown the ball away and somehow it had hit Lily in the head.

It hurt, but it was the shock that got her to tumble down on the floor. She blinked stupidity up at the rest of the players.

"Are you alright?"

James anxiously kneeled in front of her, letting his fingers touch her forehead where she could feel something throbbing. She blushed and got a weird feeling of déjà vu, only then she had been the one asking if he was alright. She drew back from him as if he was carrying the Black Death.

"I'm fine", she said loudly, waving her hands to show him that she was capable of movement.

She nearly knocked his glasses off and her blush deepened. She stared at the floor. Why was it that whenever she was close to James Potter she became socially awkward?

"Potter, take Evans to the Hospital Wing for a checkup", ordered Madame Hooch and looking down at Lily with hard hawk eyes. "Just in case."

"But. . . .", spluttered Lily, feeling completely fine.

"Okay, professor", James said and helped Lily on her feet.

She felt like his skin emitted sparks and her body acted the same. She avoided his gaze, not wanting to look and see what was going on behind those hazel eyes. Perhaps she had gotten a harder blow to the head after all.

James led her out of the hall as Madame Hooch barked out orders to the other two teams. Lily was seething. James still hadn't let go of her arm, afraid that she might fall if he did so. It annoyed her to no end. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Severus look at her and he looked remorseful, mouthing a 'sorry' which she waved off. It could've happened to everyone. Severus then glared at the back of James's head as if he wished that he would burn up. Lily didn't have time to ponder over this since James opened the door and they were out in the chilly, autumn air.

"This isn't necessary", she said coldly to James as they walked over the huge lawn.

"Teacher's orders", he said, not sounding upset at all. "Snape's a git for targeting you like that, really should show him. . . ."

"It was an accident", replied Lily hotly, now yanking away her arm from his grip. "Severus didn't do anything wrong."

"He's a Slytherin. All of them are evil", James said with an air like that it was something everyone knew.

Lily saw red. She stopped abruptly, hands on her hips, ignoring the chilly air that came in waves over her bare arms.

"There's nothing wrong with being a Slytherin. Severus's just like me; a scholarship kid, only in a different program. So if you've got a problem with him, you've got a problem with me."

"I don't have a problem with scholarship kids", hurried James to say, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't like Slytherins and _they _don't like scholarship kids", he said, emphasized the word 'they'.

They looked at each other. Lily was glaring and James looked stubborn. The wind blew Lily's hair into her face and it carried the sound of voices coming from the courtyard. Lily started to walk again, determined to get to the Hospital Wing just to get away from James. He followed her, his longer legs easily catching up with her.

"You're a prejudiced toerag, you know", she said, not looking at him as she started to climb the stairs to the Entrance Hall.

"You love me really."

The arrogant statement bought a new wave of heat to Lily's face and she turned around so quickly that James nearly walked into her.

"No. I don't."

His hazel eyes glittered golden behind his glasses in the October sun. Lily felt a weird sensation in the pit of her stomach at the sight. Flashes of her dreams sprung to her mind; the good-natured James with his half smile and good-smelling clothes; James, the seven year old boy, with his confidence and bleeding knee and childish, innocent eyes. . . .

Lily blinked. Twice. Then she stalked off into the castle, never looking back.

. . . .

"How's your head?" asked Mary as she and Lily took their seats in History class with professor Binns.

"Fine", Lily sighed and put her books on her desk. "How did you find out?"

"Heard it through the grape vine", Mary said casually and bit the end of her pencil. "I heard it from Dorcas Meadowes, but apparently Pettigrew has already put his balls in the air, because the rumor is already spreading like wildfire."

"What rumor?" wondered Lily, eyes kept on the professor who droned on and on in a voice that was at least as effective as a sleeping pill.

"Oh, just something about a love triangle, fight for your honor, Slytherins stinks, Potter's awesome. . . . The usual. Don't worry, it'll pass."

"Huh. . . . Wait what?!"

Lily's falsetto attracted some stares from her classmates, but the professor acted as though nothing had happened. Her voice reminded her awfully of Petunia's when she was upset.

Mary smiled in that way only she could do.

"This is Hogwarts, this is school", she said, raising her arms as if she wanted to embrace the whole place. "What did you expect?"

Lily groaned and buried her head in her notes.

* * *

**Well, that was that. **

**Please leave a review of your opinion of the story. I would very much like to read what you think so far. **


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